


Mosquée, Le Caire Enluminure/Gouache heightened with Gold/40 X 22 cm/Omar Racim/1918

by bijective



Series: Art throughout the ages: Real and Imaginary [4]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28627158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bijective/pseuds/bijective
Summary: Calligraphy and Paint making tends to zone Joe out. He also suffers the consequences of it.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Art throughout the ages: Real and Imaginary [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908658
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38





	Mosquée, Le Caire Enluminure/Gouache heightened with Gold/40 X 22 cm/Omar Racim/1918

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ririsasy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ririsasy/gifts).



1 table spoon of PB29, 1 table spoon of Acacia honey, a few drops of clove oil, 1 table spoon of Gum-arabic solution.

Then came mulling.

The glass muller pressed down on the glass work surface, moving in a circle, guided by Joe’s very capable hands.

The first time Yusuf had made paint or rather, ink was almost a thousand years ago. 

The memory which had been blurry and frayed around the edges comes back clearer now. Sitting in a room with his tutor, curtains drawn lightly over windows. Under the mid day sun he had crushed and mixed oak gall with green vitriol and gum-arabic to produce ink. Later he would use the same ink to practice writing his name in different styles so as to sign his poetry.

Over the next decade and a half, he would practice his art to what he had deemed then to be perfection (He would be wrong). Being among the younger children, among a bevy of siblings and cousins had left him with relative freedom and a desire to prove his worth. 

Nicky entered his studio with two cups of coffee, one for him and the other for himself. He place the cup beside Joe, dropped a quick kiss on his head and accepted his absent-minded hum with characteristic nonchalance. Nicky then, sat in front of the Racim painting and started to set up the conservation materials.

After Jerusalem, a few decades later, he would be in India learning Sanskrit and trying to copy the scriptures into neat straight lines on palm leaves with a combination of lamp black, camphor and coconut oil. There weren’t as many bells and whistles. Yusuf would miss the flourishes and design of Arabic and Persian calligraphy. Another four centuries later he would return to the courts of the Mughal empire in India to draw miniatures of the emperor Akbar.

Nicky brushed and carefully cleaned the fragile surface of the paper. There wasn’t much work to be done. A few dabs of paint to the parts of the floral design that had flaked off along with gold leafing the illuminated area. Then replacing the frame.

It would be in Europe during the Renaissance, that he would get truly enamoured not just with art or the making of art but with all the alchemical processes of making art materials specifically oil paint. He still remembered talking excitedly to Nicolò about pigment and oil. His husband on the other hand recalled him setting fire with linseed oil in a paint making attempt. Yusuf then Joseph had been unharmed except for burning off his eyebrows. Unfortunately he hadn’t been able to grow them back instantly. Andromache had complimented him on his fashion sensibilities. 

Work done, Nicky started setting up the frame so that the painting could go on display in the library.

يوسف إبن إبراهيم إبن محمد الكيساني

Over the years his signature would reduce. First dropping his grandfather’s name, then his father’s and finally his surname. However the stylist would increase as would his habit of adding Nicolò’s name despite Andy telling him not to. 

“How can I not add the name of my other half?” He had demanded, “I would rather break my knees.”

Joe’s mind drifted to Nicky, specifically his knees. They were lovely and wet.

Wet?

Joe jerked out of his day dreaming and looked down at his pants. In his musings he had been using the muller write his name on the glass surface and had inadvertently pushed the paint off the surface and had turned his grey sweatpants blue.

“Joe? Are you done?” Asked Nicky peering behind his back to see his progress.

“Not a word…” Joe commanded, embarrassment colouring his face.

Nicky in between gasps of laughter wrapped his arms around him, “But love I’m laughing…” He laughed even harder, eyes mirthful with joy as Joe grumbled. 

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what this fic is. Its mostly rambling. 
> 
> Heres the featured art for this fic: http://www.artnet.com/artists/omar-racim/mosqu%C3%A9e-le-caire-enluminure-2bNZQO1YgqxuPq9oKDSTiw2
> 
> I adore the floral patterns.
> 
> This story is not the most historically and factually accurate. However as far as I know a lot of it is.
> 
> I consulted this paper on ink making for Arabic manuscripts: https://brill.com/view/journals/jim/10/2/article-p201_4.xml?language=en
> 
> PB29 or Pigment Blue 29 is synthetic Ultramarine one of the most popular blues in existence. Its natural version is made from Lapis-lazuli a semi precious stone. I hesitated a bit on which colour Joe would be making as while PB29 is associated with Nicky's eyes/the Mediterranean Sea/Robes of Virgin Mary it has already been mentioned in at least three other fics. The other options I considered were PG7 (Pthalo Green/Viridian) and PB15 (Cobalt Blue).
> 
> Thank you to ririsasy (https://archiveofourown.org/users/ririsasy/pseuds/ririsasy) for helping with the Arabic translation of Joe's name.


End file.
